Bolivia’s president-elect Rodrigo Paz, who claimed victory in Sunday’s presidential runoff, is the son of a former president of the Andean nation who was born in exile from its military dictatorship and schooled in the US.

Paz, 58, of the Christian Democratic Party, defeated conservative rival Jorge ”Tuto” Quiroga in Sunday’s presidential runoff to end nearly two decades of leftist rule.

Paz’s moderate platform resonated with voters disillusioned by the ruling Movement to Socialism (MAS) party, founded by former President Evo Morales, amid a deepening economic crisis.

"This is a new stage for Bolivian democracy in the 21st century," Paz said in an interview with Reuters two days before the election at his family’s ranch in the southern gas-producing region of Tarija.

Paz, who takes off

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